The present invention relates generally to pre-printed forms and more particularly to improved methods and apparatus for accurately completing such forms.
Pre-printed forms are finding use in an ever increasing variety of government and business-related applications to simplify and standardize record keeping procedures. Numerous forms of this type are currently in use, ranging from simple forms which may be completed with just several data entries to complex forms requiring extensive data entries and associated mathematical calculations. Frequently, office personnel must complete these forms manually, either by hand or using a typewriter. Such manual procedures are, at minimum, quite tedious and highly inefficient but are particularly burdensome in the case of complex forms involving mathematical calculations. For example, it is not unusual that after a complex form has been completed, corrections or revisions must be made. Even where only one correction is made, if a calculation is affected, numerous changes may be required on the form.
In an effort to solve the problems associated with manual completion of pre-printed forms, various computerized systems have been developed which substantially automate the form completion process. Broadly speaking, these systems involve the use of a computerized representation of the areas (or fields) on the form wherein data is to be inserted, with the corresponding data being entered into the system by an operator at a computer terminal. The representation of the fields is generally defined to permit completion of the form at a specific character per inch (CPI) density, and usually includes the length of each field as a number of characters at that density, and the print location of the beginning of each field as a character column number at that density and corresponding line number. Thus, with a compatible CPI printer, the operator-entered data may be put in hard copy by loading the printer with a blank form and instructing the computer to print the data. Naturally, the computer may be programmed to perform any necessary mathematical calculations and to update all previous data entries in response to a correction or revision affecting any given calculation.
While systems of the foregoing type have indeed enhanced personnel efficiency in some instances, they suffer from a lack of flexibility which has prevented their widespread application. Perhaps the most restrictive aspect of these systems is their limitation to operation with specific types of printers, usually 80 character columns at 10 CPI (which matches the width and density of a typical computer display screen). So limited, these systems cannot accommodate many standard pre-printed forms set up for completion at different CPI densities. Moreover, the user of such a system is not entirely free to change equipment if continued use of a particular system is contemplated. Rather, the user is constrained to select equipment compatible with the limitations of that system and is thus precluded from selecting other, perhaps more generally desirable equipment.
The present invention overcomes these and other deficiencies of present computerized form completion systems.